Posts published in Baltic states

Prices grew twice as fast in Lithuania this year as in the rest of the euro zone. People’s growing purchasing power is incentivizing retailers to raise prices, according to an economist. Annual inflation in the country is expected to stand at around 2.5 percent this year, economists estimate. Food is among the products that drove inflation, as food prices jumped almost 6 percent last summer in Lithuania, outpacing all other…

The National Information System Authority (RIA) and SK-ID Solutions, a provider of Smart-ID solutions, signed a contract allowing the Smart-ID app to be used as an authentication tool in national e-services, earlier this week. This is an important development in the central authentication service provided by RIA, the company said in a statement. Up until now, in Estonia, Smart-ID has been used predominantly for private sector services such as online…

A recent study ordered by Peter Vesterbacka’s Finest Bay Area and carried out by Finnish pollster Taloustutkimus concludes that the construction and operation until 2050 of the Helsinki-Tallinn undersea tunnel would add approximately €300 million to the two countries’ economies, with €47 million expected to come Estonia’s way. Expert at Taloustutkimus Pasi Holm said that the tunnel will add €600 million or 2.5 percent to the Estonian GDP a…

Representatives of the Lithuanian Land Force and the 28th Infantry Division (28ID) of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard are signing an agreement on Friday to develop a division-level command and control (C2) capability. The document embeds the ambition of the Lithuanian Land Force Headquarters to develop a division-level command and control (C2) capability within the Lithuanian Land Force Headquarters. Lithuanian military representatives say it is necessary to ensure that the…

Latvia-based NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence has released a new report on how social media is used to target individuals, public opinion, “and, in some cases, even the functioning of the state”. The report puts blame on social media giants for being active participants that wield “significant influence over what takes place in the social media space”. Disinformation is growing in complexity, scale and ambition – but what can…

Royal Marines from 45 Commando have been showing off their training methods to Lithuanian Army Corporals. Royal Marines have been teaching the Lithuanian Army a lesson – literally. Two Corporals from the Baltic nation’s armed forces have been taking tips from British commandos during a visit to a Scottish training range. The green berets of 45 Commando welcomed the pair to Barry Buddon – just along the Angus coast from…

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda is set to pay a visit to the country’s State Security Department on Friday and will be introduced by its management to intelligence development priorities. Darius Jauniskis, head of he SSD, will introduce the president to ways to collect and analyze information and will also talk about the department’s activity in preventing risks and threats to national security, presidential spokesman Antanas Bubnelis told BNS Lithuania. It…

Critics of the European Commission portfolio offered to Lithuania’s delegated candidate Virginijus Sinkevicius do not realize Brussels’ agenda and the priorities of the future EC president, Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis says. Ursula von der Leyen, the president-elect of the European Commission, which is set to start working in November, has proposed to put the Lithuanian candidate in charge of environment and oceans. Critics say Sinkevicius, Lithuania’s economy and innovation…

Hungarian Air Force (HuAF) Saab JAS 39C Gripens returned home on 2 September following a four-month deployment to Siauliai Air Base, Lithuania, during which airmen found the Litening targeting pod and new data links to be especially valuable. As part of NATO’s Baltic Air Policing commitment, four Gripens armed with two Air Intercept Missile (AIM)-120C5 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAMs) and two shorter-range AIM-9L Sidewinder AAMs stood on a…

On 11 September 2019 in Riga, political consultations were held between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Latvia and Palestine. They were co-chaired by Jānis Mažeiks, Political Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, and Dr Amal Jadou, Deputy Foreign Minister of Palestine. The consultations addressed the current bilateral cooperation issues and developments in the Middle East. The Latvian side confirmed its firm support for a two-state solution in…